


Keep whispering love

by chajatta



Series: As a tree through the ages [3]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Kissing, M/M, That's it that's all you need to know, javi takes yuzu on a surprise birthday date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:16:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21637540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chajatta/pseuds/chajatta
Summary: “Javi,” Yuzu whines, again. He squeezes Javi’s hand and Javi turns to face him. He’s bundled up in an orange puffer jacket and his boots leave little footprints in the snow as he trudges along by Javi's side. “Please will you telling me where we’re going?”His voice is soft and sweet, and he’s smiling at Javi from beneath his lashes, the corners of his mouth upturned. Normally Javi wouldn’t be able to resist a look like that, tempting as it is, but today he’s resolute.“Nope,” Javi repeats, ever patient. “I told you a million times, it’s asurprise.”
Relationships: Javier Fernández/Yuzuru Hanyu
Series: As a tree through the ages [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1283522
Comments: 12
Kudos: 72





	Keep whispering love

**Author's Note:**

> Happy (early) birthday, Yuzu. I hope GPF is everything you want it to be, and more. But I hope, more than anything, you know that, no matter what, there are so many people in this world who love you and want only good things for you. Have a wicked 25th birthday, kiddo. 
> 
> This is part of the uni au and while you don't need to have read any of the other parts to read this, it _does_ allude to some things that will happen in the (as of yet unfinished, but it is being worked on) "how yuzuvier got together in the first place" instalment. So just bear that in mind while reading. 
> 
> Work will be locked after five days.

“Javi,” Yuzu whines, again. He squeezes Javi’s hand and Javi turns to face him. He’s bundled up in an orange puffer jacket and his boots leave little footprints in the snow as he trudges along by Javi's side. “Please will you telling me where we’re going?”

His voice is soft and sweet, and he’s smiling at Javi from beneath his lashes, the corners of his mouth upturned. Normally Javi wouldn’t be able to resist a look like that, tempting as it is, but today he’s resolute. 

“Nope,” Javi repeats, ever patient. “I told you a million times, it’s a _surprise_.”

Yuzu scoffs behind him and kicks up some snow with the toe of his shoe. Javi hauls him in close by the hand and kisses him on the temple, Yuzu’s silky hair brushing his lips. “It’s gonna be worth it, baby. I promise.”

He looks dubious but Javi doesn’t mind. He _knows_ Yuzu and he knows he’s going to love what Javi has in store for him. Besides, it’s not every day that your boyfriend turns twenty. Thanks to a little Google aided research, Javi knows this is a significant birthday for Yuzu. They’ll be having a party at the weekend, so Yuzu can celebrate becoming an adult with all of their friends. But Javi wanted to do something special, just from him, and he figures that such a momentous milestone more than warrants a little fuss and secrecy. 

Yuzu finally seems to have given up his questioning because he chatters away the rest of the walk, animated as he tells Javi how excited he is for the quiz Professor Briand is giving them on Friday. Javi has never been excited for a quiz in his life, nor has anyone else he knows (except maybe Patrick, who's always been a law unto himself). But Yuzu looks so endearing, his eyes alight and sparkling, that Javi is prepared to let it go. Yuzu gesticulates with his free hand while the talks, the other swinging with Javi's between their bodies. 

"-and I thinking is good, to doing test now, before winter exams. So I see where I'm at, then can focusing studies on things I don't know."

"_Is_ there anything you don't already know?" Javi asks. He isn't being facetious in the slightest, but the look Yuzu gives him is scandalised all the same. 

"Of course! Professor Briand is world renowned physicist. I'm only second year student." Yuzu's smile takes on a dreamy quality. "Still so much for me to learn, Javi, if I wanting to be thinking- no. People thinking about, for me?" 

"Thought about?" Javi corrects, gently. Yuzu nods hard. 

"If I wanting to be _thought_ about like this, like expert."

"Hey, and you will. You'll become an expert," Javi says. He stops on the sidewalk for a moment and takes hold of Yuzu's other hand, too. "You're brilliant, Yuzu."

Yuzu scrunches his nose but Javi knows how much he likes it, being praised. 

"Javi have to say that." 

Javi grins. "Maybe, but I _want_ to, too. Besides that doesn't change the facts of it. You can do whatever you set your mind to. You are brilliant and everyone knows it." 

Yuzu moves in closer and Javi tilts his head to kiss him, tongue sliding into Yuzu's open, willing mouth. The kiss doesn't last long and Yuzu looks vaguely affronted when Javi pulls away. 

"Come on, birthday boy. We're nearly there."

They walk a little further through the city, past a shopping complex and a heaving Tim Hortons, and then Javi sees it as they cross the street. It must have finally clicked for Yuzu, too, because he lets go of Javi's hand and jogs ahead, weaving through the milling shoppers and heading straight up to the boards. 

“Ohhhhhh,” Yuzu breathes when Javi catches up to him, a huge, white cloud of cold air billowing from his mouth. He looks like a covetous dragon gazing at a mound of treasure - but, Javi supposes, Yuzu has always looked at the ice like that, like it’s something precious.

"I remember last year, you said you wanted to go outdoor skating but you didn't find the time, so I thought-" Javi shrugs, bashful suddenly. A group of children whizzes by, laughing, one girl's hair streaming behind her like a banner. 

"I can't believe Javi remember." 

Javi smiles and edges closer, until their shoulders are brushing. 

"Of course I remember," Javi says. _I remember everything you tell me,_ Javi wants to add. _Your likes and dislikes, your dreams and fears._ He doesn't, though. Instead he lays his hand down on the top of Yuzu's, where it's resting on the side of the boards, stroking him through their gloves. "So, what do you think? Do you want to try?"

Yuzu nods and tears his gaze away from the ice. "I want to try," Yuzu says. But then his smile dims. "We can't. Don't have my skates."

“That’s alright, we’ll rent some.”

“Rent?” Yuzu says it like it’s a dirty word, some new English curse that he’s just learnt. Javi knows Yuzu probably hasn’t worn rental skates since he was a child - since he took his first unsteady steps on the ice, most likely. But it would have ruined the surprise, asking Yuzu to bring his skates along on their date. Yuzu’s mild scorn is worth it for the look that had been on his face when he saw the rink. 

“Yes, rent.” Javi links their fingers together and tugs Yuzu away from the boards. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll get the full experience, this way.”

They make their way over to the little rental booth near the entrance and Javi pays for them to get fitted for skates by a peppy blonde, whose smile is almost as white as the ice. She asks if they’ve ever skated before and claps cheerfully when Yuzu informs her, “yes, we both skated many times.”

“Oh that’s great, then you’ll have a wonderful time!” She aims her megawatt smile at Javi and it’s impossible not to return the favour. “But if you do need us for anything, there are other staff members out there on the ice. Just look out for the blue coats!” She holds the gate open and Yuzu nods politely before stepping onto the ice. Javi follows and, almost as soon as the gate shuts behind them, trips and lurches forward, arms windmilling. 

“_Shit_.” 

Yuzu screeches, his laugh echoing loudly enough that some of the other skaters spare them a glance as they pass by. Javi catches himself with a grumble. 

“Toe-pick,” he says by way of explanation when Yuzu continues to smirk at him. “I’m not used to it.”

“This is why we should bringing own skates,” Yuzu says, but he seems comfortable enough in his rentals as he strokes away from Javi, heading off to join the other skaters as they loop around the perimeter of the rink. Javi catches him up but when he reaches out to take his hand Yuzu dances away, laughing as he speeds up just a little, just enough to keep himself out of reach. 

They skate around like that for a while, weaving in and out of the other people on the ice. It seems apt, Javi thinks, him chasing after Yuzu, Yuzu constantly, tantalisingly out of his reach. Finally Yuzu slows his pace but he doesn’t look back to see if Javi has caught up. Instead he holds his hands out behind him, turning them palm up for Javi to take. Javi isn’t going to ignore an invitation like that. 

He wishes they weren’t both wearing gloves, so that he could feel Yuzu’s skin against his. His hands are always warm and Javi loves to tangle their fingers together, trace his lips over the bony rise of each knuckle, kiss the fluttering heartbeat in his wrist. Still, this is nice. More than nice. 

“Caught you,” Javi says playfully. Yuzu scoffs but he doesn’t pull away, so Javi brings both of their arms around to the front, pressing himself tight and close to Yuzu’s back. They're spooning almost, like they had been when they'd gone to bed last night, Yuzu tucked safely in the cradle of Javi's arms. 

“I letting you caught me,” Yuzu shoots back, but his voice is quiet, fond. Javi hums and nuzzles his way past the hood of Yuzu’s coat, so he can bury his face in Yuzu’s neck. The tip of his nose must be cold because Yuzu squirms, laughing. 

“Thank you for letting me catch you.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Javi knows he’s talking about more than just today. It’s been a long and difficult journey, getting to this point. There were plenty of times last year when Javi didn’t think they’d ever get here, that he’d walked out of Yuzu’s life and that was it, their story ended before it had ever really been given a chance to begin. 

But all of the hardship and heartache had been worth it, Javi thinks. For this moment, skating together like this. Holding Yuzu in his arms, feeling the warmth of his body radiating through all the layers they’d had to pile on to fend off the Toronto winter. But for all the other moments, too, the small and the not so. Yuzu coming back from Japan at the end of a long and lonely summer for Javi laden with gifts from his family, study dates at cafes on campus, waking up to a sleep rumpled Yuzu in his bed when he stays over on the weekends. 

It isn’t all positives. Javi has had enough failed relationships to know it never is, but there’s nobody in the world Javi would rather bicker about doing the dishes and leaving his clothes lying around with than Yuzu. 

"This is one of the thing I think about, like, a picture in my head, when I knowing I coming to Canada," Yuzu starts. Javi can feel the reverberations of his voice as he speaks. "Of course, school is important. I give up very good place at _Tohokudai_ to come here, have to make worth it."

Javi nods. He knows all about that, Yuzu's paid academic scholarship at the University of Tohoku, all that lingering guilt over turning it down, the driving desire for his grades to be the best as some sort of recompense. Javi extracts himself from Yuzu's back but he keeps hold of Yuzu's hand, tangling their fingers together. Yuzu smiles and they start to move again, ambling leisurely around the rink. 

"I thinking is very nice picture, if it really how people live. I just, I never thinking is something that I can have for myself." Their blades scrape over the ice as they skate. Javi can see the little girl from earlier on his periphery, drawing figures on the ice, and he wonders what Yuzu was like at her age, with a career as an athlete still a viable future for him. "Thinking if I can be best in school, make family proud, repay for leaving Sendai, will be enough. I don't needing more." 

Yuzu takes a deep breath and Javi feels the grip on his hand tighten. 

"Then I meeting someone who make me think - I wanting both."

Javi swallows hard. "Oh yeah? And who is this guy? Is he handsome?"

Yuzu giggles. "Very. Maybe most handsome man I ever meet."

"Wow," Javi whistles. "Is he kind, too? Does he treat you right?"

Yuzu laughs harder and tips his head back, great clouds billowing from his mouth and up into the blue winter sky. He's so very beautiful, Javi thinks, his cheeks and the tip of his nose rosy pink. 

"Yeah, he treat me very well." Yuzu confirms. Javi darts in to kiss him on the cheek and the skin is delightfully warm beneath his mouth. Yuzu turns his head, angling for more, so Javi obliges, kissing him firmly on the lips. 

"Hey, watch where you're making out!" The two of them spring apart as another skater swerves to avoid them. Yuzu bows politely and Javi calls a quick, "sorry!" but the man has already gone on his way, his retreating back paying Javi's apology no mind.

Yuzu bursts into a fit of the giggles but he follows along obediently when Javi pulls him over to a quieter corner, closer to the boards. 

"Oops." Javi says. Yuzu covers his face with both hands and then Javi's laughing, too, both of them like a pair of hyenas. Javi leans forward, drawing Yuzu into his arms and Yuzu goes easily, laughing into the shoulder of Javi's coat. Arms slide around Javi's waist and the two of them stay there like that, holding each other until their laughter finally subsides. 

"Javi?" Yuzu says after what feels like an age, his voice muffled. 

"Mm?" 

Yuzu lifts his head. He doesn't speak right away so Javi allows himself to look his fill, greedily committing all of his favourite details to memory. Yuzu's soft chin and the bow of his lips, the little cluster of moles by his eye. Yuzu swallows. 

"Thank you for bringing me here," Yuzu says. He sounds so sincerely grateful, like Javi has moved mountains for him. Never mind that Javi would, in heartbeat, if it was what Yuzu needed. "Is really best birthday." 

Javi feels his heart fluttering in his chest. "Yeah? You liked it?" 

"Yes, very much. Is something special, just for us. Something to remember for a long time." He smiles, his pink mouth parting so that Javi can see the barest flash of his teeth. "I love it."

Yuzu hasn't said 'I love you' yet, and if he were still a teenager Javi might be worried about it. But Javi knows Yuzu will say it when he's ready. Besides, this feels awfully close. Yuzu flush against his chest, gazing at him with those pretty brown eyes of his crinkled into happy crescents. Either way, Yuzu always makes sure that Javi can feel it, showing him the things that he can't express with words. 

"You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it," Javi says. Yuzu has edged in closer so their lips brush as he speaks. "I'd do anything for you, though. You know that."

It's difficult to tell which one of them closes the gap, but Javi supposes it doesn't matter, in the end. Not when Yuzu's tongue is in his mouth, fingers curling into Javi's coat to haul him closer. Yuzu ends up pressed hard into the boards but he just arches into Javi, letting out a gorgeous little moan that makes Javi go weak at the knees. 

"God," Javi gasps when he pulls back for breath. Yuzu doesn't let him get very far, going up onto his toe-picks to kiss Javi again, and again, his mouth so very warm. "We're gonna get kicked off the rink," Javi groans. 

Yuzu finally eases off, lips pursed in a pout. It takes every ounce of Javi's willpower not to lean in and nibble along the seam of his mouth. "Is my birthday, my boyfriend having to kiss me," Yuzu shrugs. "That's rules."

"Oh, well, if it's the _rules_."

Yuzu nods but he eases out of Javi's hold all the same, smoothing down the front of his coat and tucking some hair behind his ear. "But let's go skating more."

He holds his hand out and Javi takes it, stumbling again over his toe-pick. Yuzu laughs and Javi reaches out with his free hand, mussing Yuzu's hair. 

"Yeah, let's go skate," Javi says as Yuzu tidies himself up again. "Then we can go back to my place and eat cake. You can have your other presents."

"Other presents?" Yuzu gapes. 

"Uh. Of course, you didn't think this was it, did you?" Javi knew Yuzu would enjoy coming skating, but what kind of asshole would he be if his only gift to Yuzu on his twentieth birthday was coming to a free rink for a skate around? 

"But you already giving me- and organising party on Saturday," Yuzu says. They skate away from the boards and rejoin the steady stream of people looping around in a circle. Javi thinks he can see the guy that shouted at them in the distance. "Is too much. So much trouble."

"Trouble," Javi scoffs. "It's no trouble. I want to do this for you."

"But-" Yuzu starts. Javi rolls his eyes and leans over to press a finger to his lips. 

"Nope. Too late," Javi says. "All already done, can't complain about it now." Yuzu sticks his tongue out and Javi pretends to pinch it, delighting in the way Yuzu snatches it back almost immediately. "Let me spoil you on your birthday, okay? It's the rules."

"Oh, it's rules again," Yuzu says, but he's smiling and he looks like he's relented. They carry on skating for a while, quiet as they enjoy the moment, and then Yuzu pipes up again. "Thank you, Javi. Really, I'm appreciate. Um… appreciating- everything Javi do today. I'm really happy."

Javi's entire body softens, his insides like putty. He releases Yuzu's hand and then throws his arm out, inviting Yuzu beneath. Yuzu takes it, snuggling in against Javi's side. Javi squeezes his shoulder, then presses a quick kiss to his temple. 

"You're very welcome. Happy twentieth birthday, Zuzu." 

Yuzu sniffs and burrows closer, body furnace hot. The little girl and her friends race by, laughing and shouting, and Javi watches as she does a playful little hop, airborne for less than a second before she's back on the ice. They look happy, Javi thinks. Carefree. 

Yuzu's head is resting on his shoulder and Javi turns to nose at his hair, fingers tickling the nape of Yuzu's neck. 

"Another lap? For good luck?"

Yuzu lifts his head. The tip of his nose is pinker than ever but it's hot when Yuzu leans in, knocking them together and then kissing him, short but sweet. "Already got luck."

Javi's heart pounds against the back of his ribcage. The things Yuzu says, sometimes, his words heavy with love and meaning, if one is willing to scratch just beneath the surface. Still, Javi supposes he's right. They've got plenty of luck, the two of them together. 

"Cake, then?" 

Yuzu's face lights up. "Cake." 

Lucky to have found each other, lucky to have fallen in love. Yuzu’s right, they've got all the luck in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on twitter @chanbubbles, please feel free to come and say hi!


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